Girls wrestling has been at it for three full years now under the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) and four years of a state series. As this year’s regional and sectional competitions approach, Oak Park and River Forest High School has stayed in the running.
The team, usually coached by Patrick Wolfe, a fine and applied arts teacher, is being coached by Secretary of Student Activities Phylicia Nash. “Being a person for the [athletes to go to] it’s very rewarding in ways you don’t realize,” Nash said. “They call me
their mom in many different ways.”
Both the girls and boys
teams are practicing in the climbing gym in the midst of construction for Project 2, the new athletic wing. Given the limited space available, the girls and the boys are training together. But that doesn’t mean they are holding back or slowing down. A
recent visit to the climbing gym revealed that within three minutes, athletes were throwing their bodies on the floor on a coach’s cue, running in a circle, completing sprints, and by the end of observing, all of the athletes’ mouths were agape as they gasped for air.
“It’s really hard, and it’s hard to make yourself better…there’s a lot of people doubting you, but to have wonderful coaches help you to get better,” said Isabella Miller said, a junior in the
girls wrestling program.
The doubt is something that women’s
wrestling has to endure through every day they go through the sport. Ever since the conception of interscholastic wrestling, it has always been a male dominated sport. “That really doesn’t matter,” said Nash. “It’s really about the mindset. They just need to know they can do it, and don’t get me wrong, it’s hard.”
Wrestling is one of the most difficult sports that all of interscholastic athletics can offer at the state series level. Imagine using all of the muscles in your body for three minutes straight to take down your opponents, usually starting in a neutral position with both wrestlers bent down and hands out. They are ready to attack or defend at a moment’s notice.
The most notable wrestlers on the girls team this year consist of junior, Cora Brown at 11-3, senior Pearl Lacey, at 14-6, senior, Kemaria Freeman, at 11- 8, and junior Michelle Kpekpe, at 12-12. Nash is optimistic that the girls will get into the postseason with IHSA regionals taking place on Feb. 1. “These girls can get to sectionals–even farther, if we can stay
healthy,” she said.
Wrestlers are incredibly prone to
injuries. This is not unlike other sports, like football, with the players throwing themselves at other wrestlers. Another unique aspect of wrestling is weight class- es. Weight classes are necessary to ensure fairness in the sport, but the way to get to those weight classes can be incredibly scary and harmful to the body if not done properly.
While it is very well regulated at OPRF, and coaches are great support for healthy weight loss or gain on both the boys and the girls side, Nash said, “It’s definitely a challenge. There are some advantages, and disadvantages with being a boy or being a girl in wrestling, but it all comes down to mentality.”
Keeping the right mindset is easier on a close team, according to junior Ner- issa Blue. She sees it “as a second family… it’s a small group, but in my eyes it’s a lot, and very tightly knit.”
Like all sports at OPRF, the risks seem to be overridden by the love of the sport, the coach’s support, and the family-like connections built by being on a team at OPRF.
Women’s wrestling is growing and has been for many years. Time will tell where is goes next.
